Food for Thought

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The United States Ranks 45th out of 146 Countries on Environmental Sustainability

According to a report from researchers at Columbia and Yale Universities, as highlighted in a New York Times article (January 24, 2005), an assessment of 146 countries' ability to protect the environment indicated that the United States ranked 45th, with high marks in water quality and environmental protection capacity, offset by low marks on waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions. Nordic Countries claimed four of the top five spots. According to the "2005 Environmental Sustainability Index", Finland ranks first in environmental sustainability with a score of 75.1, followed by Norway, Uruguay, Sweden, and Iceland. The United States, with a score of 52.9, moves up from its 2002 position, when the country ranked 51st out of 142 countries. At the bottom end of the sustainability index are Uzbekistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, and North Korea.

Environment's Critical Role in Poverty, Disease and Hunger

"A considerable body of scientific data points to environmental degradation -- the erosion of genetic diversity, the loss of species, the degradation of ecosystems, and the decline of ecosystem services -- as a direct cause of many of the most pressing issues we face today, including poverty, declining human health, hunger, undrinkable water, emerging diseases, rural-urban migration and civil strife", says the report, Environment and Human Well-Being: A Practical Strategy. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in an Environmental News Network article said: "The environment has for too long been the poor relation to economic growth. Conserving the environment, be it rivers and lakes, forests, the atmosphere or the oceans, has all too often been seen as a luxury which is only addressed when all other issues have been resolved. But this very welcome report makes it clear that real, long-lasting and secure development can only be achieved if the environment is put at the centre of decision-making."

Ecosystems are an important and under-valued aspect of the livelihoods of the poor. Three quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas, and are disproportionately affected by the degradation of ecosystems. Good ecosystem management, combined with good governance practices can improve the lives of millions. Examination of the life of indigenous people of the Amazonian Basin illustrates how the pursuit of economic opportunities by outsiders (other countries) slowly erodes the connection of people to their land.

EarthTrends "Poverty Resource" explores the dimensions of human well-being through a combination of maps, datasets, resources, and short articles on the linkages between poverty and the environment.

Four general areas of effective action for Sustainability:

1. Transport
2. Food
3. The heavy parts of home
4. Activism

Sustainability: A New Bottom Line

Our resources are limited. Our little planet can only provide so many goods and absorb so much of our waste. Given these constraints, our current economy, which is predicated on relentless growth, is unsustainable. Something has to give.

The "Handout Mentality" of Developing Countries & Small Communities

In India there are three main crops, namely 'rice, grain and disaster relief'. In a country prone to all kinds of natural disasters, is it no wonder they rely heavily on outside assistance. Read an interesting essay by Dawn Tuiloma of Palesoo, Fiji.

Time is running out to achieve sustainable development?

Warning that time is running out in the race for sustainable development – vital in the war on growing poverty, hunger, disease and ecological degradation – the United Nations environmental agency has been hosting regional meetings and producing a set of indicators to bring about concrete improvements at the ground level.